Never had a credit card

thornbridge

But I'm about to take the plunge. I have whittled it down to two eather Marks & Spencer [m&s]credit card or Asda credit card.

It's just for peice of mind and the ballance will be paid in full each month. Any thoughts.

Regards.
Thornbridge

thornbridge

Just gone for the Asda one. I'm a tad disappointed about my limit only £2000. I've no debt hold down a full time job and never had any money debt trouble.O.h said maybe it's because i have never had a credit card before and maybe i will be able to raise the amount later in the year.

I plan to use it to pay for white goods and holidays and pay the ballance off in full each month so as you can see 2k is rubbish.

Moggles_2

If this is your first credit card, you have a limited credit history, so from the lender's perspective, you're something of an unknown quantity.

Once you've operated this card for 12 months and built up a good payment history, you'll find it easier to get the credit limits you want

vaporate

£2000 is ample. Why not play safe incase you lose your job and couldn't afford to pay it back.

thornbridge

Hi Vaporate, I'm fortunate enough to have some savings what i have saved up over the years. My proposals this year are for a consevatory so we would only be using the card for security when paying deposits to company's etc also we book weekend breaks away months in advance.We only buy what we have saved for so £2k won't go a very long. So if i did loose my job the credit i have borrowed would be the first thing to get payed off and cut up.
I do see your point thou but I'm one of those who if i can't afford i dont get

izools

If you spend a lot on the card and pay it off quickly your limit will soon improve.

You are lucky you got a prime card atall if you don't currently hold any other credit cards.

The best way to be in line for a sizeable limit increase in six months time would be to make large purchases up to say 66% ~ 75% of the credit limit and pay the balance back over two to three months.

Do this two or three times and after six months you should see a large limit on the account, if not, then ask for it after your sixth statement and they should be happy to oblige.

As it stands, you are currently in a position wherby you need to prove to the lender you can handle a larger credit obligation - if you have a limit credit history they have no way to judge how much credit you can handle.

Having a high salary / lots of savings is very different to having the financial acumen to be responsible with a credit facility

The alternative is to overpay your credit card so that you are in credit enough to make the purchase you need to. Some card providers frown upon this so ask if they would object to your card being in credit for a short time frame before doing this.

bingy_burge

Some prime cards would have declined simply because they expect you to have a credit card history. I got declined @ 18 for a natwest card when I had been a customer since 16 and the only reason was no credit history.

2k is good for starters my first card was £400.

Some people get as low as £100 or the subprime cards.

thornbridge

Thanks guys suppose a 2k starter is ok then. I was under the impression i would be stuck on 2k forever.

As i said I'v never had one so did not know how they worked. Suppose i should thank myself lucky

Moggles_2

izools wrote: »

The alternative is to overpay your credit card so that you are in credit enough to make the purchase you need to. Some card providers frown upon this, so ask if they would object to your card being in credit for a short time frame before doing this.

Not advisable. Credit card companies take a dim view of any activity which breaches their Ts & Cs

More to the point, you cannot normally spend more than your entire credit limit in one day regardless of your actual balance (exceptions to this would be lots of transactions under floor limit and delayed transactions from abroad). You can't do it as the £2000 limit on the card is the maximum that can be spent, even if you did pre-load the card

thornbridge

Okay so now I have got my credit card. I would like to use it to book a short break next May over the internet as I said I wanted it for piece of mind really. So just a quick question. Am i right in thinking that i book a hotel break next May and lets say the hotel goes bust do i get my money back as I have paid in full using the credit card.

Sorry if that sounds a stupid question, but as i said i have never had a credit card so go easy on me

Orford

thornbridge wrote: »

. So just a quick question. Am i right in thinking that i book a hotel break next May and lets say the hotel goes bust do i get my money back as I have paid in full using the credit card.

Yes , any payment is over £100 is covered by s75 of the Consumer Credit Act.